Those who like to listen to music in Dolby Atmos immersive audio or “Apple Spatial Audio” now have another great option. LG just announced that the company’s OLED TVs (made since 2018) and select QNED TVs are getting the Apple Music app with full Dolby Atmos immersive audio support. This means LG TV owners who subscribe to Apple Music can now listen to thousands of music tracks in full immersive surround sound on their LG TV, sound bar or A/V receiver.
Dolby Atmos was first introduced in movie theaters in 2012 with the Disney film, “Brave.” With Dolby Atmos, sound can come from not just all sides, but from above you as well, which heightens the viewer’s sense of immersion and realism. The technology proved popular and Dolby Atmos made its way into consumer products like TVs, speakers, sound bars and receivers two years later. Today, thousands of movies and TV shows are available in Dolby Atmos immersive surround on streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Disney+.
More recently, Dolby Atmos has been used in music studios to create multi-channel immersive mixes of music, both for new releases and for classic catalog tracks. I’ve been listening to quite a bit of music in Dolby Atmos over the past couple of years and find it provides a much more engaging listening experience, compared to traditional stereo. New albums from artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Ailish and Ed Sheeran and catalog tracks from Elton John, Deadmau5, The Police, Rush, Queen and Coldplay (among others) have been mixed or remixed in Dolby Atmos immersive surround revealing details I had previously never heard. Music in immersive audio can sound incredible played back through a good surround system or even a high-end sound bar.
Until recently, Apple Music subscribers who wanted to listen to their music in Dolby Atmos immersive sound through their home theater or living room sound system have been required to buy an Apple TV streaming box. But now that the Apple Music app with Dolby Atmos support has been added to LG’s WebOS streaming platform, things are getting a whole lot simpler. Just download the latest version of the Apple Music app on your compatible LG TV and you’re ready to rock. LG tells us that this feature is now available on all of their OLED TVs made since 2018 and on the company’s QNED TV models from the Q90T and above.
While most LG TVs can decode Dolby Atmos directly, you’ll get much better results if you connect your TV to a Dolby Atmos-compatible sound bar or A/V receiver and speakers. This will give you the three dimensional immersive surround sound embedded in these Dolby Atmos music mixes. LG has a large selection of Dolby Atmos compatible sound bars including the latest models: S95TR, S90TY, S90TR, S77TY, S75TR, S70TR, S70TY, SG10TY and SC9S. From 2023, you can use the SE6S or S77S, and from 2022, the S95QR, S90QY, S80QR, S80QY and S75Q all support Dolby Atmos.
Select LG sound bar models are also “IMAX Enhanced certified,” which means they can also decode DTS:X immersive surround which will go live in the Disney+ app on May 15th. For best effect, when listening to movies or music in surround, we recommend choosing an LG sound bar with rear channel speakers and a separate powered subwoofer. Some sound bars come with these additional speakers bundled but others may require a separate purchase.
Those with a Dolby Atmos-capable A/V receiver can simply connect their LG TV to the receiver using the TV’s eARC HDMI port in order to take advantage of this new feature. If you prefer listening to immersive music over headphones, LG Smart TVs can also directly connect to Apple AirPod or other Apple devices via Bluetooth. In our experience, though, Dolby Atmos sounds much better over speakers so go that route if you can.
As part of the launch, LG is offering a free 3-month trial of Apple Music which you can find today when you load the Apple Music app in eligible LG TVs. Existing Apple Music customers can log in to their account in the app. The WebOS Apple Music app knows which TVs support Dolby Atmos so there should not be any additional settings required.
The Bottom Line
Apple and Dolby have been pushing immersive audio for music for the past couple of years, with tens of thousands of new and classic tracks now available in Dolby Atmos surround sound. When done right, immersive audio can elevate the music listening experience, bringing the listener into the music. But getting Dolby Atmos from Apple Music previously required purchase of a separate Apple TV streaming box. Now LG TV owners can experience Dolby Atmos immersive music over speakers just by loading up the Apple Music app on their TV and connecting a Dolby Atmos-compatible sound bar or receiver. This should bring immersive music to a lot more people. And to me, that’s a very good thing.
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